Jalapeno Focaccia
Posted by Jennifer McHenry on Just Baking.
For years, I have been anti-bread-machine. From my knowledge of them, I thought they were a cop-out way of making bread. However, thanks to one of my culinary heroes, Alton Brown, I have come to realize that bread machines are quite handy for kneading and proofing dough. So, in light of my recent change of heart, I received a most beautiful bread machine for my birthday.I’m still in the stage of only making the recipes included in the instruction manual. I will be brave and branch out soon, but I’m still trying to get my bread-legs steady. I can, however, augment those recipes, and that is how we ended up with this beautiful jalapeno focaccia to compliment our chili we made last weekend.
I must say that I may officially be spoiled to this little appliance. It does all the hard, temperamental parts of bread making for you. I’ve never been a big fan of those parts. For this bread, it combines the ingredients and kneads them into a lovely dough. Then, the proofing is done inside the machine at precisely the correct temperature. After that, all you need to do is roll it out and bake it.
We loved this spicy focaccia, and we plan on making it again and again with many variations. As for the bread machine, it definitely has my seal of approval.
Jalapeno Focaccia (recipe adapted from Cuisinart)
Crust:
- 1 & 1/8 cups water, 80-90 °F
- 2 Tablespoons + 1 teaspoon extra virgin olive oil
- 1/2 Tablespoon chili powder
- 1/2 Tablespoon ground black pepper
- 1 Tablespoon red pepper flakes
- 1 & 1/2 teaspoons salt
- 3 cups + 3 Tablespoons bread flour
- 1 & 1/2 teaspoons active dry yeast
Attach kneading paddle to the bread pan. Place all ingredients, in order, in the bread pan, and place pan in bread machine. Select Dough/Pizza Dough. Select medium size. Press start to begin mixing, kneading, and rising. When cycle is finished, remove dough from pan. Punch to deflate. Let rest 10 minutes.
Topping:
- extra virgin olive oil, for pan and for drizzling
- cornmeal, for dusting
- 3/4 teaspoon coarse salt
- chili powder, to taste
- fresh ground pepper, to taste
- 1/4 - 1/2 cup (or to taste) shredded cheese (We used a Mexican blend)
- 1 jalapeno, sliced (& seeded, if you like)
Brush a 12″ x 8″ pan with olive oil and sprinkle with cornmeal. On a lightly floured suface, roll out dough to size of pan. Place dough on pan and cover loosely with plastic wrap. Let dough rise in a warm place about 40-50 minutes, or until it has doubled in size. Preheat oven to 425 °F. Press fingertip indentations into dough about an inch apart and a half inch deep. Drizzle dough with olive oil. Sprinkle with salt, chili powder, ground pepper, and cheese. Place sliced jalapenos evenly on top. Bake until golden and crispy, about 15 minutes.
